In their national campaign to promote emergency contraception
(EC) to young people, Advocates for Youth (AFY) took their message to
Kentucky on Sept. 10. It remains to be seen if anybody was listening.
EC, touted as a form of birth control and a solution to the
problem of teen pregnancy, inhibits ovulation or prevents the implantation of
a fertilized egg when used within 72 hours of unprotected sex. Tamarah Moss,
program manager for AFY said, "EC is a method of pregnancy prevention. It is,
in fact, not an abortion pill, it does not actually terminate a pregnancy."
Moss promoted EC to Bowling Green and Lexington health professionals, school
personnel and non-profit organizations in the workshop.
But Bowling Green attendees, including Sara Sweeney, were not
all in agreement. Sweeney is an abstinence coordinator for Alpha Alternative
Pregnancy Care Center in Hopkinsville. "How can you say it doesn’t end a
pregnancy if an egg has already been fertilized?" Sweeney said. "EC appears
to be another quick fix to a much more serious problem."
The workshop explored a number of ways to make EC more widely
available to teens, and included keeping it secret from their parents. A
panel of teens from Warren Central High School gave their input on the issue.
Shane Green, a senior,
thought promoting EC in schools was a bad idea: "I really
think that if you have teachers handing [birth control] out in class, the
students will think they’re getting the green light." According to the panel,
sexual activity among students is very common at Warren Central.
One proposal suggested that teen girls get advanced
prescriptions for the drugs in case they needed it for future use, but
Bowling Green attendees, by a 3-1 margin, opposed the idea. Sweeney objected
on grounds that it would probably increase sexual activity and may actually
increase the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, which are already at
epidemic proportions. "They don’t know what the long-term effects are,"
Sweeney added. "What happens to your body down the road?"
Moss maintained that EC
is entirely safe, but a health educator in
attendance pointed out that the 2002 Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment
manual by McGraw Hill suggested the possibility of birth defects if EC
fails. Health professionals are now finding
long-term side effects with other birth control such as depo-provera, which
was promised to be safe for long-term use years ago.
Emergency Contraception has been available for years, but
only two dedicated brands, Plan B and Preven are marketed specifically as
post-coital contraception. Last year, Kentucky health departments dispensed
approximately 300 EC’s to women-- a number far lower than what Advocates for
Youth say
is
acceptable. By federal law, Kentucky health departments that receive Title X
funds must make EC’s available to the general public, including to minors who
do not have to
obtain their parents’ permission.
So far this year, Kentucky health departments have dispensed
355 EC’s, but the number could increase soon. Glyndon Sallengs, nurse
consultant for the Cabinet for Health services says the state is not planning
an education campaign to promote EC this year, "but they will, probably, in
the future."
If so, the state will need the cooperation of local health
departments, which may prove difficult since many do not eagerly promote it.
One reason, according to Tina Massengill of the Purchase District Area Health
Department, is that "there is a moral issue. Some believe life begins at
conception, [to dispense] this puts them in a moral dilemma."
In the meantime, Shane Green may have a solution for teen
pregnancy that the workshop missed: abstinence. "Teens our age need to have
more self-discipline, to not do drugs or be sexually active."
